If you have ever flown across an international border, you have probably completed a visa application interview before. Unfortunately, not all Naperville visa application interviews are as easy as a visitor visa interview.
In the United States, getting a visitor visa may be as simple as showing your passport and answering a few simple questions. Other visa application interviews, though, can be more rigorous and probing.
Without the necessary preparation, you may forget a detail or inadvertently misrepresent something to a consular agent. These kinds of mistakes can result in the withholding of your visa, but a dedicated immigration attorney could help you ensure your interview goes as smoothly as possible.
Some people choose to conduct their visa interviews at the border. For example, Canadian O-1A visa recipients may be able to obtain a visa stamp pre-flight. This luxury, though, is not shared by most visa applicants.
Visa applicants often prefer to schedule application interviews at American consulates in their country of citizenship, but this is not strictly necessary. A visa applicant may alternatively schedule a consular processing appointment at any U.S. consulate to obtain a visa stamp in his or her passport.
Many people make a processing appointment but then must reschedule. Most consulates will accommodate such a change, though some may require a prospective interviewee to pay additional fees for rescheduling.
It is usually important to remember as much as possible from the visa application submitted to the government. Inconsistencies with the official documentation can cast doubt on the accuracy of the evidence submitted and may result in the denial of a visa application.
For concise visa applications that are not supported by much documentary evidence, it is especially crucial to have details memorized and rehearsed. In general, the stronger the initial application is, the less rigor customs will apply during the interview.
However, this scenario is not always the case—after all, the more information that is submitted, the less time an interviewer will have to sift through it all. Accordingly, the interviewer may be more inclined to believe an applicant’s verbal responses. Either way, the best strategy for an interviewee to follow is typically to review the initial application thoroughly and take note of details that are easy to forget, like dates and dollar amounts.
The most important thing to bring to a visa application interview is a valid passport. Other important documents may include a copy of the initial application and a receipt notice, usually Form I-797.
If a visa application includes derivative family members, then those family members should accompany the principal applicant. They should bring information to establish their relationship to the applicant, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, adoption papers, guardianship papers, or other such information. The derivative applicants will also need to fill out forms containing their biographical information—like names and addresses—before their status is approved.
Ultimately, the best way to ensure a smooth Naperville visa application interview is usually to send in a robust initial application. A knowledgeable immigration attorney could assist you in constructing a detailed application and help the interview process proceed without a hitch. If you need help applying for a visa, call today for a consultation.
